FACT CHECK: ER Ejercito No Longer Laguna’s Governor Since 2014

Claim: Actor and politician ER Ejercito is described on his official Facebook page that he is the “Elected and Legitimate Governor of the Province of Laguna.”

Rating: Misleading

Facts:

Over eight years since he was unseated for campaign overspending, former Laguna governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito is still described on his official Facebook page as the “elected and legitimate governor” of the province.

While it is correct that Ejercito was elected and became the legitimate governor of Laguna, the last time he won the elections for the province’s top post was in 2013.

First elected as governor in 2010, the actor and former Pagsanjan mayor won a second term in the May 2013 elections against then Rep. Edgar San Luis.

However, a few months later, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ordered his removal after he was found guilty of campaign overspending.

The Supreme Court later affirmed Comelec’s ruling and dismissed Ejercito’s appeal with finality in 2015.

Ejercito left the capitol in May 2014 upon the advice of his uncle, former president and then Manila mayor Joseph Estrada, with then vice governor Ramil Hernandez taking over as acting governor.

Ejercito challenged Hernandez in the 2016 and 2019 elections, but lost in both instances.

In 2016, amid uncertainties if he will be allowed to run given his earlier campaign violation, their camp decided to also field his son Jerico.

The younger Ejercito later withdrew his candidacy after the Comelec dismissed the disqualification case against his father, but his name remained on the ballot as it was already printed.

The former governor attributed his loss that time to the confusion of having two Ejercitos on the ballot, although their combined votes are still below the votes obtained by Hernandez.

Hernandez won by a landslide in 2019, making him the “legitimate” governor of Laguna until the end of his term this year.

Why it matters:

As of writing, the official Facebook page of ER Ejercito already has over 779,000 followers. The former governor is running for mayor of Calamba City.

His son Jerico is running for vice governor alongside Rep. Sol Aragones, who is seeking to stop Hernandez from winning his third and final term as governor.

Meanwhile, Ejercito’s wife, Pagsanjan vice mayor Girlie "Maita" Javier Ejercito, is running for Pagsanjan mayor, a post she and her husband already held in the past.

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